


Family Bonding

by cazmalfoy



Category: CSI: NY, Without a Trace
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-03 23:42:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6631837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazmalfoy/pseuds/cazmalfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny's daughter has a sleepover, her and Dan bond over milk and broken bones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Bonding

Dan Messer leant lazily on the shopping cart he was pushing in front of him. It was already half full, with junk food Dan noted, and they hadn't even been around the half the supermarket.

"We need some chips," a young female voice chirped, snapping the Italian man's attention back to the market.

"There's half a dozen packets at home!" Dan argued.

"Dad!" Elena Taylor whined pouting at him, her brown eyes wide. "What if not everyone likes those flavours?" she questioned. "Then I'll be known as the girl who has horrible taste in chips. I can't live with that!"

Dan laughed at her dramatics and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he relented. "Get whatever flavours you want. But when your dad kills me for spending so much money, I'll haunt you forever," he joked, pushing the trolley after Elena.

Elena was Dan's lover's daughter. She hadn't been planned but she was the apple of Danny Taylor's eye from the beginning. Her mom had left Danny and disappeared when Elena had been a few weeks old, leaving Danny to raise her on his own. Dan had been seeing Danny for three years, since Elena was eleven. After four months they had all moved in together and Elena had renamed Dan 'dad'.

"Dad!" Elena cried impatiently. "Come on," she sighed, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at him. "We need ice cream."

Dan rolled his eyes and continued following her. Sometimes it amazed him how much like Danny, Elena was.

~

Dan honked the car horn as he pulled into the driveway to the house he and Danny owned. Danny was sitting on the front porch, his feet on a small table, sunglasses in place and newspaper in his hands.

Danny looked over the top of the newspaper at them. "What the hell you honking at?" Danny yelled across the lawn as Dan and Elena got out of the car.

"We need your help, daddy!" Elena answered for Dan, as he opened the trunk.

Danny put the paper to one side, slid on his sneakers and made his way down the path to the car. "Jesus Christ, Dan!" Danny exclaimed, seeing how many shopping bags were in the trunk.

"See why we need your help now?" Dan asked, greeting Danny with a soft kiss as Elena grabbed a couple of bags and began taking them into the house.  
"See I was under the impression that you were going to buy some snacks to keep everyone out of trouble tonight," Danny said. "Not buy half the god-damn supermarket."

"You can blame that on your daughter," Dan replied, grabbing the remaining bags and shutting the trunk. "Apparently, teenage girls are fussy about what type of popcorn they eat and what flavour chips they want."

Elena had already placed her shopping bags in the kitchen and had promptly situated herself on the sofa in front of the television. "I was thinking," Danny said, placing the bags he was holding on the counter top. "Is it such a good idea to go out tonight?" he asked. "I mean, she's having so many friends over. What if she needs us?" he asked, biting his bottom lip worriedly.

Dan smiled slightly and set aside the oranges he was holding. He stepped towards Danny and pulled the other man into his arms. "Stop worrying," he whispered in his lover's ear. "She's fourteen, a big girl. She can stay alone in the house for a few hours."

"But what if something -," Danny started to say but Dan put a finger to his lips.

"She knows what to do in case of an emergency," Dan assured him. "I know she's your baby girl but she needs to do things on her own sometimes."

Danny sighed and nodded his head, knowing that Dan was right. Dan smiled at him and attempted to move his finger away. Before he could though, Danny had drawn it into his mouth and was sucking it merrily.

Dan moaned quietly when he saw Danny's tongue dart out to lick his knuckle. Dan pulled his hand away from Danny's mouth and slid his fingers through the FBI agent's dark hair before he pulled him closer, crashing their mouths together.

Danny grinned against Dan's mouth. When he felt Dan's tongue trying to pry his lips open, Danny allowed him access without a second thought. Danny's hands went around Dan's waist to pull his lover closer.

"Guys!" Elena cried suddenly. Both men shot apart at lightning quick speed. Both were flushed and both were gasping for breath. "Promise me you guys won't do that while my friends are here," she instructed.

"Why shouldn't we?" Danny asked as Dan set about putting the groceries away.

"Because it's gross," Elena complained, pulling a face.

"It's gross that we're so in love that we want to kiss?" Danny asked, stepping closer to Dan and resting his hands on the other man's hips.

"Yeah," Elena agreed. "You're my parents," she added, "you're not supposed to make out and all that stuff," she pulled a face even more as she grabbed a can of soda. "You guys aren't planning on embarrassing me tonight, are you?" she asked, looking at them nervously.

Danny smirked wickedly, but before he could open his mouth Dan elbowed him. "Of course, we won't embarrass you," Dan assured her.

Elena grinned. "Thanks," she whispered, standing up on her tiptoes and kissing them both on the cheek before leaving the room.

"What'd you do that for?" Danny demanded when she had disappeared.

"I'm not going to let you do the embarrassing dad thing that all parents think they need to do," Dan told him, turning around in his arms. "We're going to remain silent when her friends arrive, go the movies then go straight to bed when we get back. No embarrassing moments." 

Danny sighed and rested his head against Dan's shoulder. "When did  _you_ become the voice of reason in this house?" he whispered, chuckling against Dan's t-shirt clad shoulder.

"Be worried when the voice of reason is Elena," Dan replied, kissing Danny on the top of his head before moving back. "Now help me with these," Dan instructed.

Danny laughed and kissed Dan softly. "No way," he replied. "You bought them all. You put them away!"

Dan growled in annoyance as Danny grabbed an apple and headed out of the room, grinning widely. "You wait. Next time we go shopping you're doing it all by yourself," he grumbled.

~

Dan looked over at Danny who was sitting next to him. His eyes were firmly glued on the screen in front of him but it was obvious his focus very clearly wasn't on the movie.

Dan put a hand under Danny's chin and turned his head so that the Special Agent was looking at him. "Stop worrying," he whispered, leaning forward and kissing Danny softly.

Danny didn't respond to his kisses and Dan pulled away with a sigh. He leant back in his seat and pulled out his cell phone.

The backlight appeared ten-times brighter in the almost-pitch black cinema, but they were the only ones in there, save for a teenage couple, so Dan couldn't care less.

He opened up a blank SMS message and typed out,  _Your Dad's worrying too much. Txt him and let him know everything's fine. X._

Danny looked at him curiously as he sent the message but Dan ignored him and put his cell away.

A few moments later Danny jumped in surprise and pulled out his cell phone. Dan looked over his shoulder as Danny opened the new message he had just received.  _Daddy! We're fine. Nothing's wrong. Enjoy the movie. X._

Danny looked at Dan in surprise before a small smile spread across his face. "I can't help it," he whispered in Dan's ear.

"I know," Dan replied, a smile on his face as he ran his hands through Danny's black hair. "It's one of the reasons why I love you so much," Dan added, pulling Danny's head closer and kissing him.

~

Dan's eyes flickered open sleepily. He leant across and turned on the bedside light. He grabbed his glasses and looked down at Danny who was sleeping soundly next to him. He had no idea what had woken him when his lover was still fast asleep. The alarm clock was telling him that it was three am. He knew he had to be awake at half-past six for work, but at the moment he felt wide awake.

Dan sighed and slid out of bed, careful not to wake Danny as he too had to be up early in the morning. He silently padded out of the room and headed down to the kitchen to make himself some warm milk.

The milk was boiling when the kitchen door opened and Elena walked in, wearing her pyjamas and sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Hey," Dan greeted. Elena smiled tiredly at him. "You okay?"

Elena nodded her head a little, climbing on to a stool that was at the breakfast bar. "I couldn't sleep," she whispered. "Why are you up?" she asked.

Dan smiled and turned the stove off. "Same reason," he admitted. He grabbed two cups from the cupboard and poured the warm milk into each.

"Thanks," Elena whispered, clutching the cup in her hands.

Dan sat in the chair next to Elena. Neither of them spoke for a moment until Dan spoke again. "Why are you up?"

Elena looked startled at Dan's question. "I told you," she replied. "I couldn't sleep."

Dan smiled a little. "But you didn't say why," he argued.

"I had..." she paused, shaking her head. "I dreamt that I came home from school and all your stuff was gone," she whispered.

Dan's eyes softened when he saw that she was fighting back tears. He got to his feet and wrapped his arms around Elena. "Shh," he cooed softly. "Hey," he whispered, putting a hand under her chin and forcing her to look up at him. "That's never going to happen," he told her firmly. "I love you and your dad too much to leave. It's never going to come to that, I promise. Stop worrying, okay," he instructed.

Elena sniffled and nodded her head, wiping away a few stray tears. Dan pressed a gentle kiss on the top of her head, before he released her. They finished their milk before Dan turned to her. "You going to be able to get some sleep now?" he asked.

"Yeah," Elena whispered, kissing him on the cheek. "Good night, dad," she whispered.

"Night, sweetie," he replied, watching as she headed back into the sitting room where her friends were sleeping soundly.

Dan yawned as he grabbed the cups and placed them in the sink. Behind him he heard a door open again. He thought it was Elena but when he turned around he saw Danny standing in the doorway, looking dishevilled and confused.

"What the hell are you doing up so early?" Danny demanded grumpily.

"I couldn't sleep," Dan replied, pushing Danny out of the kitchen and turning off the light. 

Danny nodded his head and allowed Dan to push him back up the stairs to their bedroom. As Danny snuggled down under the covers, Dan leant up on an elbow and looked down at him.

Danny looked up at Dan curiously. "What are you looking at?" he demanded sleepily.

"You," Dan replied. "You know I love you, right?" he asked quietly.

"Of course I do," Danny replied. "And I love you, too. What brought this on?"

Dan sighed and shook his head. "Nothing," he whispered, leaning down to kiss Danny softly. "Go back to sleep," he murmured, lying next to Danny and wrapping an arm around him.

~

Dan's arms were going numb. He hated doing paperwork, but as with every job it was needed. His cell phone rang and Dan grabbed it, answering the call without looking at the caller display.

"Messer," he greeted wearily.

"Dan, it's me," Danny's voice sounded on the line.

Dan frowned and looked at the time. "Hey," he replied. It was one o'clock in the afternoon, normally Danny didn't call in the middle of the day. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"Not really," Danny replied honestly. "I'm off to Philly for a few days," Danny told him. Dan sighed sadly; he missed Danny so much when his work took him away from them. "And Elena's school just called. She fell in gym class." Dan froze in horror, listening to what Danny was saying. "She's in the ER now. They need someone to pick her up and take her home. Would you mind..."

"Of course not," Dan interuptted, saving his report and locking the computer. "When are you leaving?" Dan asked sadly.

"Ten minutes," Danny sighed. "Thanks Dan," he murmured.

"No problem," Dan assured him. "Be careful," he instructed, heading out of the lab to the elevator.

"I will," Danny assured him. He murmured, "I love you," before severing the connectiong.

~

"Hey!" Elena cried when she saw Dan enter the ER.

"Sweetie!" Dan breathed, crossing the waiting room and crouching down in front of her. Elena's left arm was wrapped in a plaster cast. "What happened?" he asked in concern.

"I fell while I was doing a cartwheel," Elena shrugged.

The teacher that was with Elena spoke before Danny could. "Excuse me. Who are you? Where's Mr Taylor?"

Dan glared at her as he got to his feet again. " _Special Agent_ Taylor is currently in Philadelphia on business," Dan said, not liking her tone.

"Miss Taylor can only be released to a parent or guardian. Since Mr Taylor is out of..."

"I am her guardian," Dan snarled. "If you check Elena's file you will find that Agent Taylor gave specific intructions, authorising me to access her details and allowing me to collect her."

The woman glared at him. "I'll have to look into it. In the mean time..."

Dan pulled his badge out of his pocket. "I'm Detective Messer, NYPD. When you figure out what you should be doing, you can call me at the office to apologise." Dan grabbed hold of Elena's arm and pulled her out of the ER.

"I hate her," Elena grumbled once they were at Dan's car.

"Well, she's going to have a shock when she finds out I'm telling the truth," Dan grinned, starting the car. "I know you want to go home but I've got to go back to work and grab my laptop first."

"It's okay," Elena assured him.

Dan bit his lip as he thought for a moment. "How'd you fancy seeing the NYPD?" he asked.

Elena's eyes widened excitedly. " Really?" she asked. "Won't you get in trouble?"

"Shouldn't do," Dan shrugged, pulling into the NYPD parking lot. "Other people bring their kids in, why can't I?" he asked, pulling into his designated parking spot.

Elena grinned and climbed out of the car. Immediately she latched onto Dan's arm as they headed into the building.

Elena was looking around the building in awe as they stepped out of the elevator on the thirty-fifth floor. Elena had been to the FBI building before but never they NYPD.

"Here," Dan indicated to the lab where he had left his laptop. Mac was now in there, working on something on the layout table. "Hey, Mac," Dan greeted.

Mac lifted his head. "Hey," he replied. "And who's this?" Mac asked in surprise when he saw Elena holding Dan's arm tightly.

"Mac," Dan said, "this is Elena."

"Pleasure to meet you," Mac said, extending his hand to Elena and shaking hers.

"Nice to meet you, sir," she replied nervously.

"Elena's my daughter," Dan told Mac.

Mac stared at him in surprise. "I didn't know you had a child," he commented.

"My partner does," Dan replied.

"Oh," Mac said. "What did you do to your arm?" he asked Elena, noticing the cast on her arm.

"I was doing a cartwheel in gym class today," Elena told him. "I lost my balance and broke my arm."

"Ouch," Mac flinched. "Sounds painful."

Elena nodded. "Do you want to sign my cast?" Elena asked suddenly.

Mac looked surprised before he nodded his head. "Okay," he said softly, grabbing a black marker pen and signing his name on Elena's cast.

"Listen, Mac," Dan said, "I was hoping that, since all I have to do is paperwork..."

"You can finish the report at home," Mac told him, putting the finishing touches on Elena's cast.

Dan smiled, putting his laptop in the computer bag and gathering the notes he had been using. "Thanks," he whispered, putting the bag on his shoulder and pulling out his car keys. "You ready to go?" he asked Elena. "We need to stop at the pharmacy and get your painkillers."

Elena nodded her head. "Yeah. It was nice to meet you, Detective," she said to Mac.

Mac smiled back at her. "It was nice to meet you too, Elena," he replied.

Dan said goodbye to Mac before leaving the lab with Elena.

~

Danny moaned as Dan pushed him back against the door, assaulting his mouth with his tongue. "Dan," Danny whispered, pulling his mouth away from Dan’s. "Dan. I know you missed me but could you let me put my things down first?"

Dan grabbed Dany’s bag and tossed it across the room, knocking a vase over.

"You are so cleaning that up," Danny told him.

"Who cares?" Don replied, pressing his lips against Danny’s, kissing him passionately.

Danny moaned and ran his hands down Dan’s back to grope at his ass, kneeding the cheeks as he pulled the other man closer.

"We’ve got maybe thirty minutes before Elena gets back from the mall," Dan whispered in Danny’s ear, his hot breath ghosting over Danny’s tanned skin. "If you’ve got a better idea then I’m all ears."

Danny grinned and kissed Dan passionately before he replied. "Okay, you win." He kissed Dan once more before falling to his knees, unfastening Dan’s jeans.

~

"Daddy!" Elena cried, pushing the door open and running into Danny’s arms. "I thought you weren’t back until tomorrow!" she said.

"I closed the case early and flew back to be with my favourite girl," Danny said, kissing her softly on the top of her head. "I missed you baby," he whispered.

"I missed you too, daddy," Elena whispered, sinking to the couch next to Danny in the space Dan had just vacated.

Dan went them soda’s. The NYPD detective’s drinking habits had changed since he had started seeing Danny. He had gone from having a beer while he watched the game to having a can of diet soda instead. He knew that Danny didn’t want him to change because of him but Dan knew how much Danny struggled each day with his addiction and he wanted to make things as easy for his lover as possible, so he tried to avoid drinking alcohol around Danny.

"What did you do?" Danny asked, carefully taking Elena’s left hand in his.

Elena smiled as she launched into her recollection of what happened three days before. Danny grinned when Dan returned with their soda’s. He glanced down at her cast, which was mostly covered with signitures of her friends.

"We saved a space for you, daddy," Elena told him, handing the Special Agent the marker pen Dan had grabbed.

Danny smiled and took the cap off. "Mac?’ Danny read as he signed his name in the space that had been reserved for him.

"Dad took me to see the NYPD," Elena grinned.

"Really?" Danny asked in surprise, looking over at Dan curiously.

Dan just smilled at his lover and continued drinking his soda. Elena talked with Danny about what Philadelphia was like before she headed into the study to surt the internet.

"What did you tell Mac?" Danny asked, reaching out and pulling Dan into his arms.

"The truth," Dan replied. "That Elena was my partner’s and mine daughter. He hasn’t really asked too many questions."

Danny smiled and kissed him softly. "I love you," he whispered in Dan’s ear.

"I love you too," Dan replied, leaning further backwards into Danny’s arms, just enjoying the feeling of being with Danny.


End file.
